Gaming has always been an indie-driven industry. Be it CD Projekt Red, Blizzard, or even Epic Games, they all began with a handful of enthucutlet gamers looking to go the extra mile, and made it so big that they became pillars of the community. So, independent development is always where raw talent translates into future blockbuster games.
It is no wonder that at the 18th edition of the India Game Development Conference (IGDC 2026), the Indian Game of the Year award went to Winds of Arcana: Ruination, an excellent indie Metroidvania platformer made by a team of nine at Brewed Games. The runner-up was Dodo Duckie, developed by a ten-member team at BornMonkie—they also claimed Indie Game of the Year and Best Game Direction at the game awards at IGDC.
But beyond the main stage at Chennai Trade Centre was the Indie Zone, and that was where I was, keeping my eye out for more promising candidates for the next big indie hit. There were 60 indie games this time around, and I found four promising ones:
Agent Rudra
Founded in 2025 by Sameer Tripathi (formerly of Gameloft and Sony), Aadhya Interactive gave us a playable preview of Agent Rudra. It features cinematic stealth exploration and martial arts combat, and it looks good, drawing a bit of inspiration from titles like Uncharted, Splinter Cell, and hand-to-hand combat games such as Sifu and Sleeping Dogs.
At IGDC 2026, Lead Environment Artist Atharva Parab introduced me to the mechanics running crisp, of course with a bit of bugs. But it was made by fewer than 7 people! They also confirmed they strictly avoid AI for asset generation, choosing to manually fine-tune Quixel Megascans and custom 3D models. Publisher or not, they are aiming for a full multi-chapter release targeted for late 2029.
DURGA: The Lionhearted
Ahmedabad-based Shivaansh ArtVision is another seven-member superteam that showcased the brilliant-looking DURGA: The Lionhearted.
What attracted me to it was that it was set in ancient Indian landscapes inspired by Gujarat's natural heritage. And the protagonist is a young Durga sets out to protect her village from a mysterious nature curse driving wild animals into a frenzy.
While it reminded me a bit of the hit game Raji, Durga uses her wooden staff to parry attacks and create openings. This game is being built on Unreal Engine, and the developer is planning a 5-to-6-hour campaign spanning five elemental chapters—such as Earth (Var) and Water (Ganga Taran)—loaded with ancient stepwells, forgotten ruins, and puzzles drawn from classical Indian texts. DURGA: The Lionhearted aims to finish production by the end of December for launch on PC (on Steam and Epic Games Store), with planned console ports.
Vayuputra Hanuman
Perhaps the most fun I had was when I checked out the pre-alpha Vayuputra Hanuman by Sen and Bhakta Interactive. While the game is still in early stages of development, these guys—a team of 15 volunteers who are developing this in their free time despite holding regular corporate jobs—gave us some playable stuff to tinker with.
I met some of the team there, including Texas-based Game Director Karan and Bengaluru-based Game Producer Ashwin, who explained to me about the development in Unreal Engine. They were also proud of developing some part of tail-based combat for Hanuman. The team is currently building toward a 2-hour playable slice planned for August 2028. From what I saw, the game is in the vein of action-adventure games like God of War and Ghost of Tsushima, but set in ancient Bharat with an original story utilising iconic figures from Indian mythology. The dream, for them, is developing this into 20 story chapters spanning 15 to 17 hours of gameplay.
KHOJ
Developed by a team of seven at Chitrakala Interactive in Pune, KHOJ reminded me of The Legend of Zelda and Horizon Zero Dawn right away. You play as a silent cartographer navigating a dangerous, lore-heavy world. The core gameplay hinges on moral choices and consequences.
As a mapmaker, exploring uncharted territories is your livelihood—but choosing to sell the map of a sacred land to outsiders may net you valuable resources while destroying your credibility among the local inhabitants. The world is shaped by nine distinct moons, each altering local weather patterns and survival conditions. In the preview I saw, we were at the moon Dharnes, where heavy downpours flood the terrain, requiring us to set up camps, manage resources, and avoid drowning. The studio maintains a strict zero-AI policy for development, ensuring every piece of code and art is handcrafted. KHOJ is tentatively targeting a 2028 release on PC and consoles.
Of course, all four developers are here hunting for funding and a production house to back them. And there were a handful more excellent ones too. These four, however, were worth the mention. But the zeal is there. The spirit is there. And it echoes what gaming is all about—the dream.
